Paul Ryan Poised to Remain as House Speaker

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is likely to win the nomination of Republicans in the House of Representatives to remain speaker. He has broad support from the GOP, but some question how Ryan and President-elect Donald Trump will work together, according to The Washington Post.

However, Idaho Rep. Raul R. Labrador expressed his concerns, saying, "So far, I'm not hearing anything about changing the way we do business here in Washington, so I'm not ready to support him yet."

Trump crossed ways with Ryan over trade policy, immigration reform, and entitlement cuts during the president-elect's campaign, and his supporters criticized Ryan for distancing himself, including holding back his endorsement until weeks after the Trump had gained his party's nomination.

The Wisconsin Republican and the president-elect appear to be on the same page over repealing the Affordable Care Act, securing the U.S.-Mexico border and cutting taxes, the Post reports.

North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer endorsed Ryan, saying, "The time to move forward with a Republican agenda is now. Now is not the time to have civil war."

However, Labrador, a leader of the House's Freedom Caucus, disagreed that Trump's win meant a mandate for Ryan's agenda.

"Our leadership needs to understand that the American people sent a message to the House," said Labrador, according to the Post. "They sent somebody like Donald Trump to change the way Washington works."

The Freedom Caucus did not run a candidate against Ryan for the job. The leadership elections are "going to go out as gentle as a lamb," according to North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, who said, "Our focus has shifted more to how do we make sure that we have a good plan on supporting the initiatives that are important to the American people."

The GOP is ready to challenge Ryan if he diverges from supporting Trump, the Post reported. The first test will be a Dec. 9 deadline to extend federal spending.

Ryan must win a floor vote of all 435 House members; if around two dozen Republicans withhold support, his election could be in doubt. Other members of House leadership are expected to stay in those positions, as many ran unopposed, reports the Post.

In other races, the chairmanship of the National Republican Congressional Committee is up for grabs between Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers and Texas Rep. Roger Williams. Georgia Rep. Douglas A. Collins and Texas Rep. Bill Flores are in the running for vice chairmanship.

According to the Post, barring any other candidates entering, that means seven of the top eight Republican leaders would be white men. Utah Rep. Mia Love, one of 21 Republican women in the House, said that is concerning.

"Just recently we realized, oh my gosh, we didn't have enough women that were running. We have great women as part of this conference. There are amazing women, and we should have more women in leadership," Love said.

According to Fortune, Ryan's policies may run counter to Trump's aims and "it's been a losing wager to bet against President-elect Trump's political acumen. And for this reason, markets are betting that a Trump White House will be the place where Paul Ryan's proposals — private social security, smaller government, and tighter budgets go to die. RIP."